by P. S. Power
"I think he knows that. I have to ask you not to though. He isn't against you at all, Tiera, and killing him over this is... Well, that kind of thinking is what's behind the whole rebellion, isn't it? The politics of a situation, of anything really, is almost always half hidden. The King has to pick the best of two options, but half the time that means someone feels slighted. To you it must seem like he was choosing to support Morris over you, even though the man had clearly wronged you." There was a sound that Tor knew would be the man rubbing his head. They'd been friends so long that he didn't even need to look to identify it.
Karen grunted softly, "Sandra too. That thing with the duel... I guess I can see it. He has to go with the person that has the political clout and his own army. Otherwise the rest of the nobles will feel like he won't back them when things get rough, which King Richard can't afford right now. Still, I've heard some grumbling about that. More than one of his supporters are wondering if that means he's too lacking in honor to back now."
"Right." No one spoke for a long time, though the situation didn't seem all that resolved yet. Alphonse waved a hand after a bit and sank back in the well cushioned chair. "It's always like that. He'd rather cut off his right hand than make you angry at him Tiera. If you'd just go and yell at him or something and let him make it up to you it would be good. No one wants to make an immortal mad at them, do they? Plus... you aren't wrong to be upset. Not really. If Count Morris wasn't such a complete fool this whole thing would have blown over in minutes."
That was slightly different than what Tor had been thinking. After all, from everything he'd heard it sounded a lot like his sister had been being a hot head and called the man out. Yes, she'd been called names and insulted a bit, but she was just a country girl and the man was a Count. He had a right to be a jerk, if he wanted.
Except for the fact that Tiera wasn't just anything, was she? As a Conserina she wasn't as well placed as Morris was, or even Sandra, since the dark skinned girl was set up to inherit, but she wasn't exactly only Tiera from Two Bends either, was she?
The girl made a face and looked at him, which he could make out without looking at her, even though it wouldn't make a lot of difference to his flying. Not at night.
"Tor doesn't think that though, does he? He hates me now. I can't blame him. I was so mad at you for stopping me. Even if you were partly right. You were wrong too. Sandra isn't as good as all that. She killed Reggie. You kept telling me to let her and her father off easy. I did it, and she came for me at her first chance." A hand got held up suddenly, to keep him from answering, even though he didn't really know what to say. After all, she was right. He'd called that one wrong. Tor just didn't know the girl all that well and hadn't thought of her as having a temper, but she was a noble and even the nice ones would only put up with so much.
He risked a glance at her and nodded once, but didn't get to speak yet.
"I know you mean well, Tor. That you were trying to protect everyone and keep the peace. I even know that you don't really hate me. I... It hurts. You're supposed to side with me, even when I'm wrong. That's what family is. You picked all those other people first, and attacked me instead. You threatened to kill me."
Tor locked his eyes forward, "I did. I would have done it too, if you hadn't stopped trying to kill everyone else. I probably couldn't have lived with myself later, but I would have done it then. You're my sister, so I'm responsible for you. It wasn't a good thing of me to do, but I still can't see what else I should have done. Well, that's not totally true. There are a few things." He didn't mention it, but making sure that people with high powered weapons didn't get them back while they were worked up and angry was going to be part of his plans from then on. That mistake cost Regina her life. If Sandra hadn't gotten weapons handed to her like that, the worst she might have done would be rushing Tiera and wailing on her shield. It might have meant another fight, but it wouldn't have ended like it had.
That wasn't his problem or fault though. Count Lairdgren was the one on the scene with experience. He'd been taken by surprise too though. Probably because no one was really used to people just running around with incredibly powerful weapons all the time. Even the military elite didn't get to carry things like that with them when they weren't actively going into battle. Most Counts didn't carry more than a force lance with them either.
You couldn't take things like that away from builders though. They could just make more. Sandra was good too. Tor hadn't wanted to point it out, but that was a consideration as well. She was, like it or not, one of the top fifty or so in the kingdom already. Holding her captive wouldn't last very long, he didn't think.
Luckily that wasn't really his problem either... Except that it was, wasn't it? She was one of his people, since Tor was the Magics Counselor for the entire land. That meant he needed to make certain the girl didn't use her abilities to escape justice.
Hopefully doing that in the morning would be good enough. He was getting a bit sleepy already and rousting people around in the middle of the night was always weird. Lost in thought he blinked a bit when he realized that they'd forgotten someone.
"Oh! Please tell me we didn't forget Hardgrove at my parent's house..."
That got a sudden laugh form Karen at least.
"No, Tim took him out before we left. He's probably been in his bed for half an hour already. I have to envy him that, morning is going to come early. You should come and work with us Tor. Tiera's in the morning section. I'm sure that Kolb would like to see you. You too Alphonse. You're both getting slow and fat I bet. True, I can't see it yet, but it will show on the field. It always does when you stop regular practice, thinking that your knowledge is enough to get you through."
Tor almost told her that he'd been running daily, which was close to true, but she had a point. His life had been filled with stress and watchfulness, so he wasn't mentally lazy that way, but he hadn't had a lot of sparring practice lately at all. There was a snort from Alphonse at least.
"Little do you know. Holly Printer has been running Tovey and I ragged for the last week. I might not even soil myself when you come for me. So there." It sounded strange though, as if he was holding something back. What that was Tor didn't know, not for certain, but it probably had to do with the fact that there had been a lot more practice than just that going on.
After all, if people wanted to overthrow his father, they'd want to kill him too. That would be enough to get anyone to put in a few extra hours.
"I have some things to do, but I'll try to get back early enough to work with you." It was going to be busy actually, since he needed to check on Sandra and then visit with his parents about Taman. That and take her a few things to practice copying. That part was wild. Tiera had been joking when she'd mentioned the girl being better than he was one day, but he wasn't so certain it wouldn't happen. He knew that Tim could do it, if he decided too. Taman might be even better than that, eventually.
That was for the future though.
"I can set down in front of your door. It will just be a minute." It was a bit odd that Karen and Tiera shared a room, but Tor didn't ask about it. After all, they were family after a fashion and his sister needed someone to be with her right now. All the time probably. "You have the afternoons off then? You mentioned dropping a class and finishing another?"
His sister nodded, her face set, as if she expected him to come up with new chores for her to do. It was an idea, keeping her busy like that, but nothing popped to mind exactly.
"Yes. Until seven, when I have meditation class. Why?" There was a hint of suspicion in that last syllable that made Tor smile.
"Nothing much. I need to do some visiting in the afternoon I think. Tim mentioned some dignitaries from Austra were staying at my house in the Capital or something? I really should go and say hello. That and meet with Gerent, since he's family. Perhaps you'd like to come with me?"
There was a shrug then, but Alphonse smiled as they landed, gently setting down without so much as
a whisper.
"Right, Kincaid is coming in to visit, with some of her people. She's a player. It's a different thing there though, I take it. I'd guess that she's more like a very famous musician as far as how she's treated there. Kind of taken with Timon, I think." There was a smirk to go with the words, but no explanation. That didn't sound that bad though. Not really.
Tiera mumbled something that sounded like an agreement to go, and she got Karen out of the craft quickly, escaping into their room and shutting the door without looking back to see if anyone had followed them. Then Tor shut the side door with a thought, letting it meld back into the craft rather than getting up and doing the work physically, and took the craft straight up, resettling at Ali's house. It was several stories high and looked a bit overdone right now, more mini-palace than real home, but his wife had decorated it herself, so he wasn't going to complain. It was nice enough, his tastes were just more simple, if given a choice.
They didn't talk as they went in, his friend just walking behind him, until he got to the main room.
"Plenty of space. I'm going to turn in now. In the morning we need to go and check on Sandra, to see what she's managed to secretly build in her cell. It really hadn't occurred to me yet. Is she even in a prison cell?"
"No... Just a room in the palace. She has guards on the door though. It should be enough."
"Really?" Tor looked up into the dark face and shook his head. "You think so? If I was told that the Council of Counts was going to decide my fate like that, I wouldn't wait a day to be gone. I'm half expecting her to have managed it by morning. Hopefully no one has told her anything yet. If she thinks she has a real chance and is just being protected from Tiera, or Baron Helmsley, maybe she'll stay in place. I really don't want to have to hunt her down." He looked at the ground, feeling a wave of sorrow come over him then. "This is... I don't even have words for it Rolph. Everything has gone wrong, hasn't it? I keep expecting to wake up, but I keep having this same bad dream for some reason."
That got him a pat on the shoulder. Just a quick one though, gentle enough not to set of his shield automatically, but rough enough to seem manly and not like he was flirting with him. That his friend had been doing that, for years, was clear to him now. He hadn't been able to understand that before. Now he was. Not that it made a difference. Now especially. They were related after all.
Even if he could get past the part where they were both men, which he didn't think he could. It seemed that his best friend had realized that too, finally.
"Don't let it worry you too much. Morning will come and then the one after that. Eventually things that seem too much to bear today will become normal and you'll find peace. Right up until the next problem comes along. That's pretty much life though, don't you agree?"
"You know... You're not that great at giving reassuring speeches." Tor smiled though, actually feeling a little better. Then he pointed to the stairs and started walking.
"Take the second door on the right. We'll call that your room as long as you're here. I need to get some sleep, if I can. It's going to be a long day tomorrow."
His own room, the one he shared with Ali, on her off days from school at least, had a huge bed in it that was covered in red and gold silk sheets and comforters. It was a bit too nice for regular sleeping, as far as that went, but the mattress formed to him perfectly and let him sink deeply without any aches or pains. It was nice enough that he didn't rouse until the light from the window hit him. He'd set it up so that the dawn could act as a signal for him, changing the position of the bed and the east facing window for best effect.
There was no clock in the room, but as he lay there covering his eyes with an arm to block things out he heard the schools bell ring seven times. That meant it was well past time for him to be up and about. Especially since it would take hours to get the Prince around. Or, well, that was a bit of an over statement, but it would certainly take a good ten to fifteen minutes. That was the pattern at least. A lot of giants slept extra deeply it seemed. That, and longer than he did. It probably had to do with how much growing they had to do. It had to tire a person out.
After cleaning up Tor pounded on the door across the hall and down one, not sparing the noise. It still didn't make a lot, since it had been designed to muffle any sounds coming from the hall. Tor didn't just open the door though, since his friend could sometimes wake up...happy and that could prove awkward.
"Wha?" The voice was tired sounding, and a little gummy, probably buried in a pillow.
"I'm going to make a pot of oats for breakfast, would you like some eggs too?" It wasn't a great bribe, but after a few seconds the door cracked open and a slightly tussled head of hair appeared above him by nearly two feet. The face was creased with lines from laying on the bedding and he seemed a little more pink than normal.
"Um... Let's get off to the palace first? I can wait a bit. Give me twenty minutes? Nothing against your cooking, but I really don't want my stomach being the thing that lets Sandra escape." The door shut then and Tor went to the front room to wait, if he wasn't going to be working in the kitchen. For all that he'd asked for twenty, the Prince actually jogged down the large red staircase about ten minutes later, seeming fresher and well groomed. He was wearing a black military style uniform, though Tor was in a plain brown tunic and trousers. That would have to be changed before they got to the palace, but he could do that and fly at the same time.
Without doing more than waving, the larger man went to the door and got him to hurry through everything, so that they were flying off not a minute later.
"Sorry for the rush, but I am hungry. I'll just have to hit Mother up for something to eat before I help with Sandra. Or am I needed for that at all?"
Tor shrugged and pushed the control lever all the way forward. The world started to blur a little under them as they flew, thousands of feet up in the air. The whole thing was silent though, so there was no good reason not to use his words.
"How's your field sensing? Have you been practicing? Even if you don't want to be a builder, you should at least learn to read people. It comes in handy. In this case I figure that I'll have to do it. Try to find anything that she might have made for herself in the last four days."
"Um, I can't do that Tor. Not everyone is a wizard after all." There was enough doubt in his voice that it sounded almost like he'd tried at some point and failed, but that wasn't the case was it?
"Bull. You have everything you need to learn to be a builder if you want. You've turned off shields from the outside after all. That's at least as hard as making copies from a template. Maybe as hard as doing it without a template. You should practice. I'll get Taman to explain it to you later, on the way back, if you can come with me." Waiting for the man to blush or at least stick his tongue out didn't work. Instead there was just a head shake.
"I'd love to, but really, if Tiera isn't going to be coming for us any time soon, I need to see to my own work. You know, being the Heir to the throne and all that nonsense? I have to say, learning to make copies of valuable magics seems like a plan though, doesn't it? Then I wouldn't have to beg things from you half as much."
Tor nodded, "or, more to the point, you can learn to build things and I can beg them from you. I need to start working on a good space vessel soon anyway. I let the Larval thing and the rest of this get to me. I should get with someone that knows about that kind of thing and make sure I have everything ready to go. Burks, I guess." He'd know who to ask if nothing else.
They chattered back and forth, mainly about how valuable magics made by the Prince would be as soon as he mastered the trick of it. Thinking of sales reminded him to make sure all the people that sold his things got restocked soon. He'd been gone for months, and hadn't thought of them in more than passing. They counted on him for their livelihoods though. It would be rude of him not to see to their well being. Plus he was almost certain he was about to have a lot of extra time soon.
It took a long while to get into the palace itse
lf, even after being questioned as to his intent. The Prince was too, which made Tor go still, since it meant that everyone was suspect now. He was the Heir after all. Then, while he'd just proven he was backing his father, if anything did happen to Rich, the most likely person to benefit would be his son. It made sense, in a creepy, far too noble world kind of fashion. Who'd kill their own da just to take his job? He'd end up with it eventually anyway, probably when he turned forty, since that was the tradition. The old King and Queen had moved off to their country estate and retired when it was their turn, and there was no thought that Richard wouldn't do the same in twenty years, when it was his. The man would probably welcome it, to tell the truth.
Tor wouldn't take the job at least, if it were him. It was too much work for too little pay off.
The real trouble wasn't that they weren't being trusted, and no one glared at them particularly or anything. No, the actual difficulty was that the Council of Counts was in session and there was no one around to greet them, since the King had to attend, and Karina was, due to the fact that her brother had taken the day off from the task himself. In the end they had three people show up for them, George, the head Royal Guard, Princess Abbie and Smythe of Westend.
They all bowed toward the Prince of course, and then to him, getting the same back, since there were complicated relationships involved all around. Tor bowed low, to the group, since they all deserved it. Then he moved in and gave Abbie a quick hug. It was a bit tight and awkward, since he didn't want anyone to think he was sleeping with her. After all, if he'd slept with Varley and her mother, who were genetically a lot closer to him, then what wouldn't he do? He could hear the gossip starting already, in the back of his mind.
Then he realized that it wasn't that at all. It was a deep voice reminding him that the news probably hadn't spread far at all, and that, when it did, almost no one would care about it, as long as they stopped the practice as soon as they found out, and didn't try to hide it overly. That was Cordes. He normally didn't bother sharing information like that, but he was probably right. Tor sent a tendril of thought back, thanking the man. After all, they lived in the same head, so it made sense to try and get along.